United Way donations rolling in

Business Today

With the 48th annual Area Wide United Way campaign underway, more than $250,000 of the $875,000 goal has been committed in pledges, which represents more than 30 percent of the goal.

Many employee groups are in the midst of planning or running their campaign drive, and those that have completed their campaign are showing increases in overall and per capita giving, said Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the Area Wide United Way.

Recent successful employee campaigns include the Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City public schools, which together raised a total of $39,758, an increase of 81 percent from the 2000 campaign.

Other successful employee campaigns include Wood & Huston Bank, whose employees raised $3,230, a 115 percent increase from 2000 and Saint Francis Medical Center, which raised $79,582, a 24 percent increase.

No adjustments have been made in the campaign goal or strategies due to the recent national tragedy, said Jernigan.

The Area Wide United Way has experienced double digit increases in its contributions each year for the past five years, raising over $11 million since the first local campaign in 1953. This year's contributions will be used to fund 53 programs within 32 agencies with all funds used locally.

Jernigan said the United Way keeps administrative expenses at or below 16 percent and over 99 cents of every dollar raised is invested back into our local communities. Overall, more than 150 volunteers are involved in the Area Wide United Way 2001 Campaign.